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Cheever's Cafe

2409 N. Hudson Ave.
Oklahoma City, OK
(405) 525-7007

Cheever's Cafe is well known for being one of Oklahoma City's more popular upscale restaurants.
It is located in the former Cheever's Flower Shop at Northwest 23rd Street and Hudson, an area
that used to be known as the "Uptown" retail center before the suburban malls were developed.

Cheever's is part of a group of restaurants that incudes Iron Starr Barbecue and Red Prime
Steaks, all of which are known for having some of the city's best food. Although Cheever's
serves steaks, its focus is on "contemporary comfort food" that includes salads, sandwiches,
lunch plates, fish, chicken, and Mexican food.

Cheever's dining room

Given the reputation of these restaurants, I was expecting Cheever's to be more expensive than
it turned out to be. The steaks were definitely on the expensive side, but they are known to be
among the city's best (as are the ones at Red Prime Steakhouse). For most of the things on
Cheever's menu, though, I think good food is served at a reasonable price. The wood paneled
former flower shop provides a comfortable setting, and the service was typical of upscale
restaurants. Many dishes did not seem to be priced at the point, though, that people would have
to consider this a "special occasion" restaurant. I would speculate that the restaurant makes
quite a bit of profit from the wine and other drinks, although I did not order any. I also thought the
desserts looked expensive, but they also looked very good.

Sharolynn's salad split into a half order

I discovered that the salad is one of the standout items at Cheever's, and in my opinion
almost makes it worth the trip. All of the salads on the menu included so many ingredients
I thought they would end up with something that would spoil it rather than making it better.

In the case of Sharolynn's Salad I thought the bleu cheese would not be very
appetizing, but I ended up loving the combination of flavors that was put together. The pine
nuts and maple vinaigrette dressing were the best features of the salad, and the fresh greens
were quite good. I now have confidence to go with the way the chefs prepare the salads
rather than to question whether the end result will be something that is appetizing.

Molasses roast chicken breast

The Molasses Roast Chicken Breast was another dish in which I had to trust that it
would come out all right, since it was not the normal type of dish I find in most restaurants.
This was a very well cooked and well seasoned dish, though, that I thought was excellent.
It came with Green Tomato Grits that were quite interesting, as well as fresh green beans.
The side dishes, bread, and salad really showed me why Cheever's was a better restaurant
than many others that also serve good entrées. Here the whole meal ended up being much
more than just the main dish.

Cheever's chicken tortilla soup

Cheever's also serves several Mexican dishes including tacos, tamales, and buffalo picadillo
(yes, served with buffalo meat). Most of it did not look like traditional Mexican food, but was
more the type of thing I would call "Southwestern."

I tried Cheever's Chicken Tortilla Soup and found it to be somewhat different from the
ones I have had in most Mexican restaurants. The soup was very thick, and was spicy without
having a lot of flavor. As impressed as I was with the rest of the meal, I thought Cheever's
probably should have stayed away from this Mexican dish. I suspect some of the other Mexican
or Southwest dishes on the menu are better.

I appreciate restaurants such as Cheever's that give the customers choices that are not
available at most restaurants, and that make us think about what to order. I know that everything
will be interesting, and that the chefs put a lot of work into everything that is offered. I think most
customers will be happy with the results.